Hey there, for a few years, I've had this beautiful little plant pop up. It has long green leaves on a long stem (at least 2-3 ft), and tiny dark blue or purple flowers. i thought it might be mint, but I don't know. Can anyone tell me? ( photo / image / picture from brinamerg's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from brinamerg's Garden )
That's a very pretty shade of blue. Does it have a scent or smell of anything when you rub the leaves?
It looks like Angelonia angustifolia. I had some last summer. I think they were also called Summer Snapdragons Some say the leaves smell like apples.
I think it looks closer to Bog Sage, because the edge of the leaves on the summer snapdragon are more smooth, whereas the edge on the leaves in this pic are jagged.
http://www.coloradonga.org/documents/We ... elface.JPG This is the pic of Angelonia I was going by with jagged edges. But there is also this pic http://www.coloradonga.org/documents/We ... elface.JPG where the jagged edges are not as pronounced. Haven't been able to find a good closeup of the Bog Sage leaves tho. Hmmmm, is a puzzlement. Oh, and to get back to your original question of if it is an herb. Neither Bog Sage nor Angelonia are herbs.
aww, nuts. it does have quite a scent to it. But I really can't place it. The bog sage does look like it in some of the pics I've found. It is quite a beautiful plant, too. Isn't Angelonia an annual, though?
Angelonia is an annual but will reseed and sometimes come back the next year if it likes where it is planted.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and looks like a duck then it must be a duck. So if your plant manifests any of the herb characteristics then it must be a herb. I would just enjoy it and not worry about names it has beautiful flowers.
Being an herb, with a pretty flower or not, doesn't necessarily make a plant a safe one to have in all gardens. Knowing the name of a plant is one of the basics in gardening, it can save a life or at least prevent unnecessary pain from mishandling and on the lighter side can save the garden from being overrun by what turns out to be an invasive thug. And certainly not all herbs are edible!! Medicinal herbs, some can be taken internally but a great number of medicinal herbs can lead to poisoning and are for topical use only. Sacred herbs, used in religious rituals, some can be dangerous if used improperly. There are herbs that can be used around the house and garden for pest control, some of those shouldn't be handled by pregnant women and might not be safe for pets to roll around in.
